Re: Leonard Traded

I'm still scratching my head from when we drafted Leonard when players like Stewart Bradley and several other highly touted defensive players were still on the board. I tried to give Leonard the benefit of the doubt when we were inundated by his fans. Stewart Bradley would probably still be here filling a big hole at strong side linebacker!

Re: Leonard Traded

In our zeal to purge ourselves of all things Linehan, I think we may have jumped the gun on this deal. Look, I know that Leonard has been disappointing to say the least, but I, for one, was looking forward to seeing what he could do with two healthy shoulders and in an offense that, on the surface anyway, appeared to suit his talents very well.

I can't believe that by dealing Leonard we would save enough money to justify taking a guy like Harris, even though he weighs 300 lbs. He's bounced around more than Paris Hilton on a Saturday night.

Re: Leonard Traded

Rams trade RB Brian Leonard to Bengals
By Jim Thomas
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
A crowded competition for the No. 2 running back spot behind Steven Jackson got less congested Thursday, with the Rams trading running back Brian Leonard to Cincinnati for defensive tackle Orien Harris.
As of early Thursday afternoon, the Rams had yet to formally announce the deal but Leonard’s agent, Mike McCartney confirmed that the deal had been finalized.
“This is a great trade for Brian,” McCartney said. “I give the Rams credit for putting him in a great situation, with a great quarterback in Carson Palmer, where he can be a running back. “They’re going to put him in the nickel right away.”
After releasing Chris Perry recently, the Bengals don’t have a clear No. 2 running back behind starter Cedric Benson. The Bengals’ offseason roster currently includes Lindenwood University product DeDe Dorsey, Kenny Watson and sixth-round draft pick Bernard Scott at running back.
The Rams could never find a role for Leonard during his two seasons in St. Louis _ was he a running back or fullbacK? And that seemed to be the issue with new head coach Steve Spagnuolo as well. Leonard was bothered by shoulder injuries in both of his seasons in St. Louis, playing in only two games last season before going on injured reserve.
The second-round draft pick carried only two times for seven yards last season, but saw extensive action in place of the injured Jackson in 2007. That year, Leonard finished as the Rams’ second-leading rusher with 303 yards on 86 carries (a 3.5 average), and 30 catches for 183 yards. His best game came against Arizona on Oct. 7 of the ‘07 season when he rushed for 102 on 18 carries.
Harris was claimed off waivers from New Orleans by the Bengals before the start of the 2008 regular season. He played in 14 games with one start, finishing with 24 tackles. The addition of Tank Johnson in the offseason made him expendable. In St. Louis he has a chance to be the team’s fourth defensive tackle, with he and fourth-round draft pick Darell Scott backing up starters Adam Carriker and Clfiton Ryan.

Re: Leonard Traded

Originally Posted by Milan

How is this heading in the right direction or making Linehan look bad? This trade is going to have 0 impact on us. This was a practice squad guy from the Steelers.

I'll take a practice squad player from the Steeler's D line over a practice squad player on the Rams D line anyday. he may not have started much, but he's played in a number of games so he's got to have some skill.

what concerns me is, teams obviously see potential in this guy... but he's never landed in a place that's wanted to keep him for any length of time. i sure hope spags can set him straight and squeeze the juice out of this potential lemon.

Re: Leonard Traded

Yeah, I'd also take a Steelers practice squad player over a Rams practice squad player, problem is, we didn't trade a practice squad player for a practice squad player. We traded a 2nd round draft pick and our #2 draft pick for a practice squad player.

Re: Leonard Traded

spags likes a deep rotation and this guy is a good fit for the 4th DT. We probably like what we have seen so far in Chris Ogbonaya. Also Darby is a good 3rd down back and could be in the competition with Ogbonaya and Pittman to be the number 2 guy.

Re: Leonard Traded

Not the sexiest of trades, but know doubt an important one.
Forget about him being a 4th and JL a 2nd, that was in the past.
Now lets look to the future. Any RAM fan with half a brain knows about are awful run D, we just dont have the cap space as of today to get a superstar DT, but the fact is we dont HAVE to have one anyway. Look at the GIANTS, rotating big, explosive D Linemen the whole game, i.e SPAGS WAY.
Lets look at this another way- here`s hoping are 7th round RB chris o made BL EXPENDABLE

Re: Leonard Traded

Originally Posted by bruce4life

yet another 2nd round pick wasted

Well .. maybe not .. We might get lucky with Orien Harris. If he earns a roster spot and contributes it won't be a totally wasted pick. One thing is sure - we needed another DT more than we needed a 226 pound fullback. Harris can take Claude Rotten's spot.

Re: Leonard Traded

Originally Posted by MauiRam

Well .. maybe not .. We might get lucky with Orien Harris. If he earns a roster spot and contributes it won't be a totally wasted pick. One thing is sure - we needed another DT more than we needed a 226 pound fullback. Harris can take Claude Rotten's spot.

Very true, I like this. I have a feeling our D is going to be the BOMB this
year.. Maybe Top 10.